Page 35 - social media

After introducing herself as the Ghost of Media Past, and taking Eliza by

the hand in a surreal journey across her childhood, a time where media was

simply the contact established by people, talking face to face and actually

going out with friends, not through a screen- the phantom leaves the girl in

her room, disappearing.

The Ghost of Media Present, looking haggard and pale, then takes Eliza…

not somewhere that special, but flying around her own bedroom. The spirit,

eyes peered black with a glazed tint of emptiness, skin flat and pale looks

scarily alike her teenage self, making her realize how unhealthy she might

be looking. Eliza watches in awe as several 3D images of herself are

scattered across the place: one sitting at her desk, scrolling through her

Facebook on her pc; another lying in her bed, eyes glued to some post on

Instagram she’s checking on her phone. The multiple apparitions seem

disconnected from the world around them but entirely connected to that

mass media. As they circle the room, the spirit guiding the teenager by her

hand ages, becoming noticeably older and ailing. She shows Eliza the world

outside her window and as the girl stares off into yet another screen,

portraying the blogs she’s addicted to instead of the houses of her street,

the ghost vanishes instantly and Eliza notices a dark, hooded figure coming

towards her.

The Ghost of Media Yet to Come leads Eliza through a sequence of sad,

nostalgic scenes relating to a young woman’s monotonous future- a future

without physical contact between family and friends; a depressive and real-

experiences-lacking future. Eliza, anxious to learn the lesson of her latest

visitor, begs to know the name of the young woman. After pleading with the

ghost, she finds herself before the spirit, as it removes its dark hood and

reveals an older version of herself. “It’s you, Eliza. This I am,” The spirit

Rita Rosário, 11ºA, 29/3/2018